The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported encouraging progress in efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), though health officials warn the outbreak remains a serious threat.
Official government figures indicate that the epidemic has recorded over 7 000 confirmed cases and 3 510 deaths across seven provinces. Speaking on the response efforts, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted significant gains in key affected regions, including Ituri province and South Kivu province.
According to the WHO, improved surveillance and public health interventions have successfully restricted the primary transmission zones to northeastern areas of the country, while preventing further regional spread.
“We are now starting to see encouraging signs that we are gaining ground in the most affected parts of Ituri province,” Ghebreyesus stated. “Transmission is going down. South Kivu has reported no new cases since May. More than 1 700 people have recovered, and after four months the epidemic has been contained mostly in the northeastern DRC, with the exception of a small outbreak in Uganda that was swiftly stopped.”
–ChannelAfrica–
